News Releases

In an increasingly volatile political landscape, abortion is at the forefront of hotly contested public debates in the media and elsewhere. A new report from the Berkeley Media Studies Group and the Sea Change Program examines media coverage of the issue through a new lens — stigma. While researchers have investigated how news coverage reinforces stigma around a range of public health issues, from HIV to mental illness, this is the first time a national study has looked at how stigma appears in news coverage of abortion in the U.S.

Following the election of Donald J. Trump as president, BMSG is moving forward, with our colleagues, to continue our collective, ongoing fight to improve the health of our communities. The fights will likely be more challenging in a Trump administration, but with a new generation of community advocates, we will continue to grow our movement toward a more just and inclusive society.

Berkeley Media Studies Group applauds Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) for her reintroduction yesterday of legislation that would help curb consumption of soda and other sugary beverages linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic conditions.

Soda industry tactics used to defeat a 2013 soda tax proposal in the small mountain town of Telluride, CO, bear a striking resemblance to those used to block similar tax efforts in other cities, found a news analysis published today by researchers at Berkeley Media Studies Group.

Stoking fears of job loss and strategically positioning itself on the side of civil rights groups, the tobacco industry influenced news coverage of mentholated cigarettes — which disproportionately impact the health of African Americans — to prevent a ban on them, found a study published today in the American Journal of Public Health.

Children shouldn't be eating cookies for breakfast, yet that's exactly what's happening according to the Environmental Working Group's analysis of sugar in children's cereals. And without labels showing how much added sugar is too much, parents are at an unfair disadvantage trying to determine what to put on the breakfast table.

The soda industry influenced news coverage of two soda tax ballot measures in the working-class cities of Richmond and El Monte, Calif., found research released today by the Berkeley Media Studies Group.

For the next five years, NSVRC will continue to provide assistance and resources designed to prevent sexual violence. Specifically, NSVRC will work with Berkeley Media Studies Group to uncover the most effective ways to educate people about sexual violence, expand messaging around Sexual Assault Awareness Month, help state and local partners evaluate the effectiveness of their work, and co-sponsor the 2014 National Sexual Assault Conference.

Nutrition advocates may be able to use lessons from tobacco control to help government move faster toward protecting the public from harmful food and beverage company products and marketing practices, say the authors of a new study published today by the American Journal of Public Health.